​A woman who dealt with rejection for two decades shared a testimony of how she overcame the trauma and how God answered her prayers, bringing her healing.

As a young adult, she did everything right. At least, it seemed to her. She was the perfect girl and gloried in people’s praise of her. Exceptionally beautiful and smart, everyone noticed her. Blue eyes, long blond hair, slim fit, everything about her physique reflected the perfect art from the heavenly hands that made us all.

Her marriage to the man of her love was first like a dream come true. She thought; I met the perfect man. It wasn’t long before her said marriage revolved into a nightmare. She did all she could to impress her husband, but received the worst of rejections.

From constant rejection, she started to feel self-pity and beat herself up, believing that it was all her fault. Five years into her divorce (the marriage wasn’t sacramentalized), she constantly blamed herself about what she did wrong and what right she could have done to keep her man.

One day, heavily burdened and relentlessly groaning in her closet, she wished she could end her life. Thoughts of suicide were more terrifying. The pain was so severe, she started to feel her heart was cracking. She feared she was about to suffer a heart attack. She prayed, crying out to God.

Amidst the worst of her fears, a thought flashed her mind; she claimed it sounded like a voice. The solace the word brought convinced her that her prayers about finding answers were answered. She felt it was Christ speaking to her; “I am perfect and I am rejected.”

The word stuck. An insight had come. Christ was perfect, yet he was rejected by his own. “He came to his own, his own didn’t accept him” (John 1:11).

According to the woman, this line was an answer to her prayers. It was divine word drawing her to see God closer to her and listening to her tears. “I am perfect and I am rejected” is a profound message. Everyone feeling rejected needed to hear it. Rejection isn’t simply because you are unfit or not good. The perfect was also rejected. You have a friend in Jesus.

One of our strengths as people of faith is that we have a place to go and a brother in heaven to whom we can talk. Our confidence is that God is, and God hears. Saint John reminds us of this truth: “We have this confidence in God, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us” (I John 5:14).

About certain petitions, we hardly know God’s will. It’s expected. Hence, what shall we do to ask according to his will? We can go on and on without figuring it out because, many times, God’s ways aren’t our ways (Isaiah 55:8).

The best answer is to lay all our petitions before God and conclude with, “Thy will be done.” Pray and leave the rest to God.

God knows the best for us. God sees through the length and width, the height and the depth of every situation. He answers our prayers in ways that corresponds to the best for us, his children.

Fr. Maurice Emelu

Father Maurice provides a daily blog of reflections based on the bible readings of the day from the Catholic liturgical calendar. You will find these reflections helpful for your spiritual growth, inspiration and developing your own thoughts. It may also be helpful for ministers in preparing their sermons for liturgical celebrations.